On Day 178, we were reminded that the world comes from the wish, “What if nothing was as it is?,” and so the world is necessarily not truth.
Consider this quote by Ramana Maharshi:
Happiness is your nature.
If happiness is our true nature, but we asked to experience something different from truth, doesn’t that mean that we asked for experiences that are different from happiness?
We can each list a number of experiences that we have in the world that are different from happiness. For example: stress, worry, jealousy, unworthiness, guilt, anger, frustration, confusion, embarrassment, regret, grievance, insulted, stereotyped, imposed upon, and the list continues.
The Ramana Maharshi quote says:
Happiness is your nature.
It is not wrong to desire it.
What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.
It isn’t a question of whether we want happiness or not. Since happiness is our true nature, it is our nature to want happiness. The question is merely this:
Do we think we will find happiness through “right” circumstances in the world, which is created to give us an experience different from happiness, or do we realize that happiness is found by knowing and being our Self?
If our thoughts are focused on the world, the underlying motive is an experience that is different from truth, which is different from our true nature—different from happiness.
In the loop of experience, motive is “what I think.” And “what I think, I see; what I see, I experience.” So if our motive is “different from truth,” we experience “different from truth.” In other words, when our attention is focused on thoughts about the world, we currently desire “different from truth,” and we will experience it.
Or, as today’s reading says:
Your thoughts form your experience. This is a literal statement, and it is to be taken literally.
Through intention, our thoughts can be used to let go of illusion and remember truth. For a list of ways our thoughts can be helpful, review yesterday’s tip.
Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.
